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Pedroia has symptoms 'consistent with a concussion'

Boston second baseman likely out at least one week after taking forearm to head

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Pedroia exits in the 2nd 1:12

8/30/14: Dustin Pedroia gets elbowed in the head while trying to apply the tag and is forced to leave the game injured in the 2nd inning

By Ian Browne
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MLB.com |

ST. PETERSBURG -- Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia experienced symptoms consistent with a concussion after coming out of Saturday night's 7-0 loss to the Rays and will likely be sidelined for at least a week.

Pedroia took an accidental right forearm to the face from the Rays' Logan Forsythe while making a tag play at second base.

"He's got some symptoms that are consistent with a concussion," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "He's improved as the game has gone on, as the night has gone on here. Not as dizzy as he was when he first came off. But we'll take every precaution necessary with Dustin."

As Forsythe went into his head-first dive, he made what is referred to as a "swim move," using his right arm to help him stop.

"It was just a hustle play," said Forsythe. "I didn't even know I really hit him, and when I turned back and I saw him down -- I'd felt my arm hit something, and I put two and two together and figured it was his head. I didn't see where I hit him until replay, I looked at it."

The Red Sox certainly didn't think Forsythe had any intent to hurt Pedroia.

"Pedey's coming in to try to put a quick tag on him. Momentum looked like with Forsythe's head-first slide, he struck him with his elbow, that much was clear," said Farrell. "It looked like the momentum took him across the bag. He's reaching out ahead of him to try to brace himself and not slide past the bag. As he's reaching forward, he caught him with a good elbow to the left side of the head."

With rosters expanding Monday, there's a chance Pedroia won't need to go on the seven-day disabled list reserved for players with concussions. But if he does have a concussion, the club will follow the standard protocol and keep him out of action for a week or so.

Pedroia was covering second base when Ryan Hannigan hit a fly ball to deep center for a sacrifice fly in the second inning at Tropicana Field. Forsythe tagged from first and made it to second on the slide, belting Pedroia as his momentum carried him through the bag.

"Absolutely not," said Forsythe, when asked if he hit Pedroia on purpose. "I'm definitely not that kind of player. The only move that I made was to try to swim-move the tag to get out of the way. It was a bang-bang play, and the way he came down, too -- it was a hard play."

Pedroia stayed on the ground for a bit, and wound up exiting after Farrell and the training staff came out for a visit.

Will Middlebrooks entered the game at third base, and Brock Holt moved from third to second.

Just before the game, the Red Sox had taken shortstop Xander Bogaerts off the disabled list after he had been out for a week due to a concussion.

Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Brownie Points, and follow him on Twitter @IanMBrowne. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.